We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Philippians 1:27

INSIGHT

Ready to embark on my college experience, I waved goodbye to my parents. Before I could turn around, I watched in horror as their car came to a screeching halt, my mom hopped out and began heading towards me. "C'mon mom...time to cut the cord," I muttered under my breath. Even though she indeed wanted one last hug, that wasn't the main reason for her coming back. She needed to tell me how a washer and dryer worked.

Why? Because, you guessed it, I had never done a load of laundry in my life. Eventually, when I didn't have a piece of clean clothing to my name, I headed down to the dorm basement to do a load of laundry. I threw in my clothes, tossed in some detergent, turned it on and waited.

I was proud of myself, that is, until I opened up the lid after it was done. All of my whites had magically turned into a smurf blue color. I had indeed separated the darks from the whites, but one sneaky blue sock got by me and bled into everything else.

As the washer hummed, I was unaware of the influence one item was having on the whole. Our role as Christians and our relationship to the world around us works much in the same way. As we live out our new identity in Christ, we affect the culture of our world.

We do so not in a brash way, or with a "look at me" mindset. Neither does the way we go about making an impact come from sticking out by being judgmental, weird, or offensive. We're not called to be the moral police, but to live in such a way that people notice our willingness to love, forgive, seek justice, and bring value to the marginalized.

We're urged to be salt and the purpose of salt is to provide much-needed flavor to everything it touches. We bringing a bit of God's Kingdom to the world in a nearly undetectable way. This subversive nature does its work behind the scenes.

Scripture speaks about us being Christ's ambassador, which means we are called to represent His character through our actions and words. When people look at our lives, they should see Christ, and at the heart of Who he is, was humility, love, and sacrifice. He didn't seek the spotlight but that didn't prevent Him from turning the world upside down forever. Living distinct lives might be undetectable, but the impact we have should be undeniable.

REFLECTION

How are you having an impact and bringing Christ's love to the things you touch?

How can you live a distinct life today?

PRAYER

God, let me bring Your love to everything I touch. Help me to glorify You in the way I care, support, and serve those around me. May I make much of You by showing how this encounter has changed everything about me. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.